Starships and Vampires
by Maple Kachina
Summary: STV and BtVS crossover. I suck at summaries, so could you just read it anyway? You might actually like it. Please R&R!


Starships and Vampires  
  
By Megan Paris  
  
paris_megan@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all it's characters belong to Joss Whedon and WB. Voyager and its characters belong to Paramount. I don't own 'em, but I'm getting them for my birthday. Hey, I can dream! I made up the Dren and the storyline. Don't sue, I've got no money!  
  
Authors Notes: First, I originally posted this story under tv crossovers, but I didn't get as many reviews as I would have liked, so now I'm posting it here. Please Review!  
  
This isn't my first fanfic, but it is the first one I've ever posted, and my first crossover story. I'm really nervous about this, I have never shown my work to anyone but my sister. Please review my story, I really need feed back. I won't ask you to be kind, just honest. Let me know if you love it, hate it, whatever, and why. Thanks.  
  
As for the story itself, in the Buffy universe, it takes place after Oz left but before Riley left, and Faith is in jail. In the Voyager Universe, I'm not quite sure when it takes place. Sometime when Tom and B'Elanna are together. I guess it could be when they're married, but B'Elanna's not pregnant. So, read it, and enjoy. I tried to make it understandable to both Buffy and STV fans. I made a few references to the STV book Pathways..... If there is anything you don't understand, please let me know.  
  
I would like to give a special thanks to Vampire Child, my sister, who helped me out when I got writers block, and convinced me to post the story. THANK YOU! I really couldn't have done it without you! Luv ya always! Now, on to my story...  
  
  
  
It was dark and quiet in Sunnydale, as Buffy Summers and her friends, Riley, Willow, Tara and Xander, walked through the park. It was nearly the middle of the night. They didn't expect it to stay quiet for very long, though. It was never quiet in Sunnydale for long. Their expectations weren't far off. They were quickly surrounded by a large gang. But this was no ordinary gang. They were vampires. They weren't afraid, not even intimidated. They knew that they would come out of it fine. And they did. Buffy took out all of the vamps with just a bit of help from Riley. They continued walking along in silence, not giving the incident a second thought. It was a normal encounter for them. Suddenly though, it was no longer a normal encounter. There was a bright flash of light, and Buffy, Willow and Riley were gone. Tara and Xander stood alone. They didn't say anything for a minute, then Tara finally broke the shocked silence. "M-- maybe, we should go see Giles." Xander only nodded his agreement, and the two took off.  
  
Captain Kathryn Janeway settled in her seat on the bridge of the Federation Starship Voyager, beside her first officer, Commander Chakotay. There was a peaceful silence on the bridge. They hadn't been interrupted by anything for a long time, and that made Kathryn happy. But it also worried her. Things were never quiet for long in the Delta Quadrant. And long periods of nothingness made her uneasy. Like Chakotay had said before, the silence before the storm. But for now, she just prayed that the storm was a long way off. Her prayers were not answered. There was a bright flash of light, and she and three other people disappeared from the Bridge, and one out of Engineering.  
  
Buffy looked around. She found that she was in a small clearing surrounded by many large trees. Beside her were Willow and Riley. "Where are we?" She asked in confusion. The last thing she remembered was being in the park in Sunnydale.  
  
"I have no idea." Willow answered, sounding just as confused. "Buffy, look over there!"  
  
Buffy turned to see what Willow was pointing at. She saw two people standing not too far away. She recognised them immediately. Angel and Faith. "Angel? What's going on here?"  
  
"I wish I knew."  
  
Kathryn looked around. What she saw was breath-takingly beautiful. To one side of her was a large stream, more like a river, that sparkled with the clearest blue water she had ever seen. On her other side, there was a small forest of large, beautifully lush trees, and between the two, and beyond the stream, stretched a large meadow, filled with the greenest, freshest looking grass ever. The air was clean, and smelled so fresh that she found herself taking in deep breaths of it. Wherever she was, she had never seen anything so gorgeous. There were five people there in total, all of them senior officers from Voyager. Chakotay pulled out his tricorder and stared scanning the planet they had suddenly been beamed to. "Where are we?" Kathryn asked.  
  
"It looks like we're on a small M-class planet, several hundred lightyears away from Voyager. It's hardly any bigger then a small Earth city." Chakotay informed her.  
  
Kathryn nodded and tapped her commbadge. "Janeway to Tuvok." There was no response. Damn, she thought. She tried again, "Janeway toVoyager. Is anyone there?" Still no response.  
  
She glanced over at Chakotay, who tried the same thing. "Chakotay to Voyager, respond." He didn't get an answer either.  
  
Kathryn sighed. That wasn't good. "Are there any other life sings on this planet?" She asked Chakotay, who was still looking at his tricorder.  
  
"Besides the five of us, there are four others, just over there." He pointed towards the small forest. "And, they're human."  
  
Humans?? Kathryn was surprised. All the way out here? She nodded. "You three, search for food and shelter. We could be here for awhile. Chakotay, come with me to find these other people, maybe they can help." The others nodded, and the two groups set off in different directions.  
  
Buffy was absolutely stumped. She couldn't figure out where they were. Finding Faith and Angel there had been just as surprising as suddenly being somewhere else was itself. I'm just glad it's night, she thought to herself, or Angel would be dust. "So, what do we do now?" She asked.  
  
"We figure out where we are." Angel answered reasonably.  
  
"Great idea." Buffy muttered, "but how exactly do you plan on doing that?"  
  
"Well, I figured we'd just ask the people who are coming towards us." Angel said.  
  
Of course, I would have thought of that too, if I could sense people. She turned around just in time to see two people, a man and a woman,walk into the clearing. The woman had short, dirty blond hair, not quite down to her shoulders. The man had short dark hair, and a strange tattoo on his left temple. They both wore strange uniforms, black pants and jackets, with red on the shoulders. The woman had four small round dots on the grey turtle neck collar of the shirt she wore under the jacket, the man had a bar with two lines through it, and they both had odd, silver and gold colored badges on the left side of their chests. She stared at them for a minute. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
Kathryn walked into a small clearing in the woods with Chakotay right behind her. In it, she saw five people. There were three girls, a blond, a red head, and a brunette, and two men, both with brown hair. Wasn't there supposed to be only four people? She shot a questioning look at Chakotay, who looked down at his tricorder, then shrugged in response.  
  
The blond girl spoke. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
"I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. This is my first officer, Commander Chakotay."  
  
The blond girl nodded. "Impressive title. What does it mean?"  
  
"Oh screw this!" The brunette exclaimed. She jumped at Kathryn, taking her by surprise and knocking her down. "Where are we?"  
  
"Faith!" The blond said, with a sharp warning tone in her voice. She and the darker haired boy pulled her back. Kathryn stood up, amazed at the brunette, Faith's, strength, as the blond continued talking. "We can do this without violence." She said to Faith. She turned to Kathryn. "For now at least. She had a good point though. Where are we?"  
  
"We're not quite sure." Kathryn answered, wondering just who these people were. "We're on a small planet. Our ship is several hundred lightyears away and we can't reach them with our commbadges."  
  
"Small planet? Light years? Commbadges? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Captain," Chakotay interrupted, "look at their clothes."  
  
Kathryn suddenly realised that they were wearing 20th century Earth clothing. She got an idea. "What year is it?" She asked the blond girl.  
  
"Well duh! It's 200l. Now what is going on?"  
  
Buffy was getting more and more confused and frustrated by the minute. Who are these people? And what on Earth were they talking about? Nothing about it makes any sense. Should I trust these people? Do I have any choice? Buffy considered the options in her mind. She really wasn't sure what to do  
  
* * *  
  
"He's gone Giles."  
  
"Gone? What exactly do you mean by that?"  
  
"Just gone. He disappeared. He was here one minute, standing right in front of me, and then poof, he was gone."  
  
"Poof?"  
  
"Well, there was a flash of light."  
  
Rupert Giles was talking to Cordelia Chase on the phone. She had called a few minutes ago, extremely upset.  
  
"And Faith is gone from the prison. No sign of a forced exit. She's just gone too."  
  
"Apparently, the same thing happened to Buffy, Willow, and Riley. They just vanished. I'll let you know if I find anything."  
  
"Thanks Giles."  
  
* * *  
  
Buffy looked over at her friends. She could tell they were thinking the same thing as she was. Did they trust these people? They had just told them their theory. That they had been brought here from an alternate reality. And that they were also from another time. It was unbelievable, even to Buffy, and that in itself said something. But still, there was something about them that was telling her to trust them.  
  
As Chakotay watched these people, he could tell that they weren't sure weather or not to trust them. He really didn't blame them. He wouldn't be sure either. But there was one thing that was still bothering him. While his tricorder showed evidence that they were from another time and reality, he was still only picking up four life signs. "Captain," he started while the others conferred, "my tricorder is still only getting four life signs, not five."  
  
Kathryn pulled out her tricorder. She flipped it open and looked at what it said. "Same here. It isn't you tricorder." She put hers back, then, "Which one isn't showing any vital sings?"  
  
"That one." Chakotay pointed to the male with darker hair.  
  
Buffy turned to Angel. "So, what do you think?"  
  
"I don't know. I almost want to trust them."  
  
Buffy nodded. She felt it too, and she valued Angel's opinion, but she still wasn't sure what to do. "Me too, but should we?"  
  
"We don't really have much of a choice at the moment."  
  
"Right. I guess we have to." What other choice did they have? She turned to Willow and Riley, "What do you think?"  
  
"I don't know. I'll go for whatever you decide." Willow said.  
  
"Riley?"  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Okay, I guess we trust them then." It was really the only option, unless they wanted to fend for themselves.  
  
"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" Faith asked.  
  
Buffy glared at her. "No."  
  
Kathryn was relieved when they said they would trust them, but she suspected that it was only because they didn't have much choice at the moment. So, she decided to tell them about their reality as they walked back to where they would meet up with the others. "For us, it's the twenty- fourth century. We are part of the 'military' of the United Federation of Planets, called Starfleet. The Federation is made up of many  
  
different species."  
  
"Species?" The blond girl asked.  
  
"Yeah. People from different planets."  
  
"Like...Mars?" Asked the red-head.  
  
"No. From other systems." Kathryn told her, almost amused. "Five years ago, our ship,Voyager, was stranded about 65 years from the Alpha Quadrant, that's where Earth is, and we're now in the Delta Quadrant. We've been trying to get home ever since."  
  
"So...you're lost?" Said the blond.  
  
"Sort of. What about you? What's it like where you come from?" Kathryn asked. As a scientist and an explorer, she was dying of curiosity about what their world was like.  
  
"Well, to start with," The blond said, "my name is Buffy, this is Willow," She indicated the red-head, "Faith, Riley, and Angel."  
  
Buffy had listened with interest as Kathryn told them about her reality. It wasn't until she has asked her what it was like where they came from that she realised she hadn't even told her their names yet. "Well, to start with, my name is Buffy, this is Willow, Faith, Riley, and Angel. And we have demons."  
  
"Demons?" Kathryn asked, sounded surprised, as they walked out of the woods.  
  
"Yeah. Not many people know about them though. I only know because I'm a Vampire Slayer. So is Faith. Willow knows because she was attacked by vampires, and Riley knows because he used to work for a branch of the military that specialised in demons."  
  
"What's a Vampire Slayer?" This was from the man that was with Kathryn. Buffy couldn't remember what his name was.  
  
"She who slays vampires. Or, well, any demons really. Way stronger than most humans. The Chosen One."  
  
"Two." Faith cut in.  
  
"Fine, two. Whatever." Buffy stopped. She could sense something. She immediately tensed up. So did Faith.  
  
"Buffy?" Willow asked, "What is it?"  
  
"Vampires."  
  
"I sense them too." Faith said.  
  
"They're getting closer." Buffy pulled a stake out.  
  
Three people walked out of the woods. Without wasting any time, Buffy rushed towards them. She knocked down the first one she came to and stood over him as she drew back her stake and stopped. He wasn't a vampire. He was human. And he was wearing the same red and black uniform as Kathryn and Chakotay. "Oh. Uh, sorry." She stammered as she stepped back, embarrassed. She didn't usually make mistakes like that. "I thought you were something else."  
  
Tom Paris stared at the girl who had suddenly attacked her with a piece of wood. She was beautiful. And she obviously had a lot of fighting skills, although wood wouldn't be his preference for a weapon. She quickly stammered an apology and stood back so he could get up. "No problem. It happens all the time." He said dryly. He looked at her carefully, she was definitely human. He took the hand she offered, and she pulled him up. Then she whirled around, and shoved her piece of wood into someone's chest. He exploded into dust. Tom stared at where he had been standing.  
  
"Buffy! Stake! Now!" Faith yelled as she knocked down a vampire. Buffy quickly through her one and she staked the vamp.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Kathryn asked, sounding slightly shocked.  
  
"Vampires. They must have come here when we did." Buffy said, she was still embarrassed for attacking the wrong person. "I'm guessing these are your people?"  
  
Kathryn nodded. "Yes. This is Lieutenant Tom Paris," she pointed to the one Buffy had almost staked, "Ensign Harry Kim, and Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres." The last two wore the same uniforms, but where Kathryn and the others had red, they had yellow.  
  
Buffy found herself staring at the girl, B'Elanna. She had slight ridges on her forehead, almost reminding her of a demon that she might find on Earth.  
  
"Do you have a problem?" B'Elanna glared at her.  
  
"Well, no, I just..." Buffy started, she couldn't help it. She was supposed to slaydemons, not socialise with them. Oh Great, she thought, now I sound like Kendra. She quickly reminded herself that B'Elanna wasn't a demon.  
  
"She's from a different reality, B'Elanna, she's never seen a Klingon before." Kathryn explained.  
  
"She looks like a demon." Faith said.  
  
"Faith!" Buffy exclaimed, but after thinking the same thing herself, she had to admit she was right. She turned to B'Elanna. "Sorry, but I guess you do sort of look like what we would call a demon."  
  
B'Elanna shrugged. "I'm half Human and half Klingon."  
  
"Captain," Tom interrupted, "Who are these people?"  
  
"And I thought there was only four." B'Elanna added.  
  
That caught Buffy's attention. They knew we were here? They had gone looking for us? She whirled around to face Kathryn. "What? You knew we were here?"  
  
"Not exactly." Kathryn held up the device she had been using earlier. "This is a tricorder. It scans things. It can pick up vital signs. But it's only showing four extras, not five. Think you could help explain why?"  
  
Buffy glanced over at Angel, silently asking for his permission to tell them. He nodded. "Okay, I can tell you why. It's because Angel has no vital signs. He's dead."  
  
"What?" Kathryn asked.  
  
"He's a vampire. Vampires are basically people who are dead."  
  
"Wait," Chakotay said, "you're a Vampire Slayer, he's a Vampire, aren't you supposed to... slay him or something?"  
  
"Well, to make it short, vampires don't have souls. Angel does."  
  
"Okay," Kathryn said, about half an hour later. "it looks like there's only a few hours until sunrise--"  
  
"Oh, sunrise!" Buffy exclaimed, she looked worriedly over at Angel.  
  
"What?" Kathryn asked.  
  
"Direct sunlight kills vampires." Buffy explained.  
  
"I'll stay in the trees." Angel said, "I'll be fine."  
  
"Are you sure?" Buffy asked.  
  
"I'll be fine." Angel repeated.  
  
B'Elanna and Buffy lifted one last log and pushed it into place. They had just finished building a shelter. It was their second day on the planet. "There. That should do it." B'Elanna said. "It's really getting hot." She wiped some sweat off her face. She had already taken off the jacket and turtle neck of her uniform, and was just wearing the grey tank- top and black pants.  
  
"I say we go for a swim" Kathryn said.  
  
"In our clothes?" Willow asked.  
  
"Sure, why not?"  
  
B'Elanna sat down by the stream. She took off her boots and put her feet in. Tom walked over and sat down beside her, "Hey." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't drown this time." He said, referring to the time when they had been swimming together and she'd gotten caught beneath some rocks and he'd had to save her.  
  
"Don't worry, that was a one time thing." She growled.  
  
A few feet down, Riley was trying to push Buffy in. He wasn't having much luck. Buffy turned around, grabbed his arm, and flung him into the water. Willow, who was standing nearby, laughed. "You should know by now that you can't beat her, Riley."  
  
Buffy smiled, "Neither can you, Will." She quickly grabbed Willow and pushed her in too.  
  
"Hey! No fair!" Willow called. Buffy jumped in before she could splash her.  
  
Tom and B'Elanna stood up. "You know," Tom said, putting his arm around B'Elanna, "that looks like fun." He grabbed her arm, and using the arm he had put around her shoulder to help, he pushed her in.  
  
"I'll get you for that flyboy!" B'Elanna screamed as she hit the water.  
  
Harry sat down beside Faith. "How come you're not joining you're friends?"  
  
Faith shrugged, "We're not friends."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Faith hesitated, she really liked Harry, but she didn't want to tell him the truth.  
  
He'd probably end up thinking she was a screw-up, just like everyone else did. "We're just to different, I guess." She shook her head. Since when do I care what other people think of me?  
  
Chakotay and Kathryn stood watching everyone else. Buffy, Willow, and Riley were splashing each other, Tom and B'Elanna were chasing each other around, and Harry and Faith were sitting at the edge of the stream, talking.  
  
"Well, it looks like everyone is having fun." Chakotay said.  
  
"They're just trying to take their minds off the fact that we're stuck here." Kathryn told him.  
  
"What about you? Don't you want to take you mind off that fact?"  
  
Kathryn shrugged. "I'm not ready to give up. The crew has never let me down yet." She looked up, and found herself staring into Chakotay's eyes. After a minute, she looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She could tell Chakotay felt the same way. "Still," Chakotay said with a grin, quickly getting over being uncomfortable, "Don't you want to join them?"  
  
"Huh?" Kathryn said, not quite sure what he meant.  
  
Chakotay reached over and pushed her in.  
  
"Chakotay!" She yelped as she hit the water. Chakotay just stood there with an innocent grin on his face. "I'm going to court-marshal you for that!" She called when she came up. She swam over and pulled him in in.  
  
"Now you can't court-marshal me."  
  
"Fine," Kathryn said with a laugh, "then I'll demote you to Lieutenant."  
  
Chakotay smiled, "You can't do that either."  
  
"Why not?" Tom called from down the stream.  
  
"Mind your own business or I'll demote you to Ensign again!" Kathryn called back.  
  
"Hey, it took me a long time to get my rank back." Tom protested.  
  
"Then prove that you earned it and behave!" Kathryn told him  
  
"Tom? Behave? Yeah right!" B'Elanna said as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him under the water.  
  
Everyone sat around the fire, or, at least, what was supposed to be the fire. They were all freezing, except for Harry and Faith, who hadn't gone swimming, and of course, Angel.  
  
Chakotay was trying to get the fire started. "I give up. I was never good at this stuff."  
  
"I can do it!" Willow said.  
  
"If you make it rain, I'll personally kill you Will." Buffy warned her friend.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm getting better at this. Stand back." Everyone obediently stood back.  
  
"Igneous Incente!" With a wave of her hand, a fire started.  
  
"How did you do that?" B'Elanna asked in amazement.  
  
"Witchcraft." Willow said. "I've been working on it for a while."  
  
"She'd never admit it, but she's really good at it." Buffy told them.  
  
"No I'm not."  
  
"See?"  
  
"I'm cold." B'Elanna said.  
  
"Me too." Kathryn agreed.  
  
"That's because we're still wet." Chakotay said.  
  
"I wouldn't be wet if you hadn't pushed me in." Kathryn shot back.  
  
"Hey, it's not my fault." Chakotay retorted defensively. "I got the idea from Tom."  
  
"Not my fault." Tom protested, "I got it from Buffy."  
  
"Riley tried to push me in first." Buffy insisted.  
  
"I don't suppose there's anyone I can blame this on?"  
  
Buffy wasn't sure exactly when, but sometime that night they decided to build another shelter. So, the next morning, that's what they were doing. When it grew dark, Angel came out of the woods and started helping. He and Buffy were lifting a log when he stumbled a bit and dropped his end of it. "Are you okay?"Buffy asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine."  
  
Buffy put her end of the log down. She looked at Angel critically. "Angel, when was the last time you ate?" She asked.  
  
"I'll be fine."  
  
"When was the last time you ate?" Buffy repeated, this time with more force in her voice.  
  
"Since before we got here. I'll be fine."  
  
"No, you won't." By this time, they had gotten everyone else's attention.  
  
"Buffy, I--"  
  
Buffy stepped over to him. "Do we have to go through this again? "  
  
"Buffy, I'm not going to--"  
  
Buffy smacked him across the face. "I guess we do. Come on Angel, don't make me mad."  
  
Riley stepped over to them. "Buffy, don't."  
  
"Riley, we may not get along so well any more, but I can't just let him die."  
  
"You should listen to him Buffy." Angel said, "After all, he is your boyfriend."  
  
Buffy turned and smacked him again, harder. "I told you not to make me mad. Now, let's just get this over with." She smacked him one more time, just to make sure he would actually do it. Angel's face shifted into that of a Vampire. Buffy smiled with satisfaction. "See? It's not that hard." They walked into the woods.  
  
"Will it kill her?" B'Elanna asked as they walked away  
  
"No." Wollow told her. "Only if he took too much blood. Which he won't. He's done it before. She'll be okay."  
  
"She won't turn into a Vampire?"  
  
"No."  
  
Buffy closed her eyes and gasped in pain as Angel bit into her neck. It hurt like hell, but she would live. She had the last time. She could tell Angel was trying not to take too much blood. There was no medical technology on the planet, so if anything happened to her, she knew they wouldn't be able to help her. When Angel let go, she slowly sank to the ground.  
  
"You okay?" Angel asked, kneeling beside her.  
  
Buffy put her hand to her neck. "I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." Soon, Buffy stood up. "Okay. Let's go back." She started to walk, but stumbled a bit. Angel put his hand on her shoulder to steady her, but she pulled away and kept walking. "I'm fine."  
  
Harry and Faith were sitting by the water, talking. Tom and B'Elanna stood not too far away. Tom looked over at Harry. "I'm worried about him."  
  
"Who, Harry? Why?" B'Elanna asked.  
  
"Those clothes Faith is wearing? They're twentieth century prison clothes."  
  
B'Elanna snorted. "Look who's talking."  
  
"Hey! I resent that! Auckland is a rehabilitation colony, not a jail." Tom protested.  
  
"So?" B'Elanna asked, "It's the same thing."  
  
"Is not." Tom argued, "There's a huge difference."  
  
B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "Right. Whatever you say, Helmboy."  
  
Harry looked over to where Tom and B'Elanna were talking. He wasn't sure, but he thought he had heard someone say his name. "Excuse me." He said to Faith. He walked over to Tom and B'Elanna. "Did I hear my name?"  
  
"Tom's worried about you." B'Elanna said.  
  
"Okay." Harry said, a little confused.  
  
"Faith is wearing prison clothes." Tom told him.  
  
"So you're worried about me?"  
  
Tom shrugged. "Well, you've been spending a lot of time with her."  
  
Faith and Buffy both walked over at the same time. "Hey, what's up?" Faith asked.  
  
"Tom thinks you're dangerous." Harry told her.  
  
"That's not what I said."  
  
"He's worried because you're wearing prison clothes." B'Elanna explained.  
  
Faith nodded and gave a small smile. "You have a good reason to be worried. You want to know why I was in jail? For murder. I accidentally killed someone while I was out patrolling with Buffy. I thought he was a vampire, and I attacked him. By the time I realised he was human, it was too late, I had already staked him. after that, I went crazy. First I tried to blame it on her. Then I killed more people, because I liked the feel of it. I started working for our enemy. I shot Angel with a poisoned arrow. I helped our enemy nearly destroy the town where we live, which would eventually turn into taking over the world. Buffy and I had a huge fight and she put me in a coma for eight months. She barley managed to stop him. When I woke up from the coma, I switched bodies with her and did a lot of damage to her life. When we got our bodies switched back, I went to L.A. and killed a few more people, and I tried to kill Angel. We had a big fight, and in the middle, I broke down. I turned myself in to the police. Somewhere in there, I tried to kill Willow once and Buffy a bunch more times. So yeah, you could say I'm dangerous." With that, she turned and walked away. She knew it was rude, but the truth was, she didn't want them to see the tears in her eyes.  
  
"Faith, wait!" Buffy called, but she didn't stop. Buffy turned back to the others. "She says she's sorry for what she did, but I just don't think I can ever forgive her for what she did."  
  
That night, Angel fed off Buffy again. This time, Buffy nearly passed out, and she looked really pale. Willow was worried about her. She was loosing too much blood. She was getting weaker.  
  
B'Elanna sat by the fire. She was tampering with her commbadge, tying to figure out why it wasn't working. Kathryn came over and sat beside her. "How's it going?"  
  
B'Elanna looked up and sighed. "Not good. I haven't gotten any farther then I was an hour ago." She paused. "I can't wait until the second shelter is finished."  
  
"Why?" Kathryn asked.  
  
"So I don't have to watch those two." B'Elanna said, pointing to Buffy and Riley, who were making out. "And since we're on the topic of couples, what's going on between you and Chakotay?"  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"It means, what's going on between you?"  
  
"Nothing!" Kathryn protested, a little to quickly.  
  
"I don't believe you. I mean, come on, everyone's seen the way you look at each other."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about and I don't have to say anything, Lieutenant." With a mock glare, Kathryn smirked.  
  
"That's not fair!" B'Elanna protested, "You're pulling rank!"  
  
"So? What's your point?" Kathryn got up and walked away.  
  
* * *  
  
Lieutenant Commander Tuvok sat in the command chair of the U.S.S. Voyager. The decision had been made that since they couldn't find the missing crew members, they would continue on without them. No one was happy about the decision, but they couldn't just keep looking for them. Especially if they had no clues as where to look.  
  
"Sir, we are being hailed by an unidentified ship." An ensign said from the Ops. station.  
  
"On screen."  
  
The ensign nodded and a familiar face appeared on the screen.  
  
"Kes." Tuvok said.  
  
Kes smiled warmly. "Tuvok. It's good to see you again. Unfortunately, this is not a social call. I know where the captain and the others are. They're in danger."  
  
* * *  
  
Faith sat with her feet dangling in the water, staring at nothing in particular. She hadn't talked to anyone since she had made her confession.  
  
"Someone really should talk to her." Tom said.  
  
"Great. I nominate you." B'Elanna said dryly.  
  
"Why me?" Tom asked. B'Elanna gave him a warning look. "Okay, okay, I'll go." he grumbled, lifting his hands in surrender. He walked over and sat down beside Faith. "Hi."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Huh?" Faith had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.  
  
"I had no right to make accusations about you."  
  
Faith shrugged. "You were worried about your friend. That's cool."  
  
Tom shook his head. "No. Not, I had no right to make accusations about you, I meant, I had no right to make accusations about you."  
  
"What?" Now Faith was even more confused.  
  
"I had no right to accuse you of being dangerous because, before I went to Voyager, I was in a Federation Penal Settlement, in New Zealand. It's a rehabilitation centre. When I was in Starfleet Academy, I was sent on a routine test flight. I made a piloting error, and killed my three best friends. I falsified the reports, blaming it on one of them. I would have been home free, but a few years latter, I admitted to what I had done. They kicked me out of Starfleet and I joined a group of outlaw freedom fighters. I got caught on my first mission, and I got thrown in the Penal Colony. So, I'm sorry, I had no right to accuse you."  
  
Faith looked at him and smiled. "Sounds like I'm not the only dangerous one on this planet."  
  
Once again, Angel fed off of Buffy. She tried to convince everyone that she was okay, but her friends knew her better. She was loosing her strength.  
  
The group was sitting around the fire. Faith looked up. "Buffy?"  
  
Buffy nodded. "I sense them too."  
  
"What?" Kathryn asked.  
  
"Vampires." Buffy said. She and Faith, both clutching stakes, stood up as a large group of vampires came out of the woods. The vampires looked around. "A feast!" one said.  
  
"Think again." Buffy said. She threw her stake into the heart of one vamp, and pulled out another one. She and Faith rushed at the vampires.  
  
"Can we help?" Kathryn asked.  
  
"How good is your aim?" Willow asked.  
  
"It's okay, I guess, why?"  
  
Willow handed her a stake, "Stick this through their heart." She handed one to Tom and kept another one for herself. Riley gave one to Chakotay and B'Elanna. Angel handed one to Harry. "Let's go."  
  
Faith was being held by three vampires. She dropped her stake. She couldn't get free from them. Willow saw her struggling, but she was busy with another vamp. She saw the stake that Faith had dropped. Using her wiccan powers, Willow lifted the stake off the ground and it flew into the heart of one of the vampires. For a second Faith just stared at the stake that was now floating in front of her, then she grabbed it and staked the other two vamps that were holding her.  
  
Another vampire was holding Buffy by the arm. She was having trouble staking her, and there was another one coming up beside her. She turned just enough to stake the vampire that was holding her. Then she whirled around to stake the other one, but he gabbed Tom and pushed him in the way. Buffy realised what was happening too late. She couldn't stop in time, but managed to lower her aim enough to miss his heart, and her stake stabbed into Tom's side. Tom's eyes went wide with pain. "Oh God!" Buffy quickly pulled the stake out of his side as he fell to the ground, and she staked the last vampire. Then she collapsed. Faith, who had ran over when she saw what had happened, managed to catch her before she hit the ground.  
  
When Buffy woke up, she was in one of the shelters. Across from her, Tom was leaning against the wall. B'Elanna was cleaning his wound.  
  
"B'Elanna," Tom asked, "do you know what you're doing?"  
  
"What do you think Tom? I'm an engineer, not a doctor. You're the one that helps the Doctor in Sickbay, not me. I don't have a clue what I'm doing."  
  
"Gee, that's real comforting."  
  
Buffy groaned. "I am so sorry!"  
  
Tom looked up. "It's okay, but if you don't like me, you could have just said so."  
  
Buffy smiled and tried to sit up. "Don't move too much." Tom told her, "You've lost too much blood."  
  
"What about you?" Buffy asked.  
  
"I'll be fine. No big deal."  
  
Willow and Kathryn walked into the shelter. "How is she?" Kathryn asked.  
  
"Ask her your self." B'Elanna said, distracted, "Tom, stop moving!"  
  
"I'm not!"  
  
"How are you Buffy?" Willow asked.  
  
"I'm okay. I'm really tired though."  
  
Willow turned to B'Elanna. "Do you need any help?"  
  
"Yeah, could you hold this?"  
  
Willow went over to help her. B'Elanna took her jacket off and handed it to Buffy. "Here."  
  
It wasn't until then that Buffy realized she was shivering. She took the jacket and put it on. "Thanks."  
  
B'Elanna grabbed some clothes that used to be part of her uniform, and were now stained with blood. "I'll be right back. I have to go wash these out." She stood up and left the shelter.  
  
Kathryn walked over to Chakotay, who was standing near the water.  
  
"How are they?" He asked.  
  
"They're both doing fine." Once again, Kathryn found herself staring into Chakotay's eyes. He stared back into hers. This time, neither one of them looked away. Instead, Chakotay leaned down and kissed her. As they pulled away, neither of them said anything. They both continued to stare into each others eyes as the realization of what had just happened sunk in. Then Kathryn fainted.  
  
"Kathryn!" Chakotay cried.  
  
B'Elanna heard Chakotay and ran over. "What happened?"  
  
"I don't know. She just fainted. Help me mover her to the shelter."  
  
B'Elanna and Chakotay carried Kathryn into the shelter and laid her down beside Buffy. When Kathryn woke up, Chakotay was looking down at her. "How do you feel?" He immediately asked.  
  
"Awful. I think I have a fever. What happened? The last thing I remember is..." Kathryn trailed off as she remembered what had happened. "Then I woke up here." She finished. "You fainted."  
  
The next day, Chakotay stood staring out at the water. Things weren't going well. Buffy was so weak she couldn't stand up, Tom was insisting he was fine, but his wound was deep, and there was a possibility that it could get infected. Kathryn was very sick. She had a high fever, and she was going in and out of consciousness. B'Elanna walked over to Chakotay. "Hey." she said. "How are they?" He asked, referring to Tom, Buffy, and Kathryn.  
  
"I don't know, I was just going to check on them." B'Elanna paused, then, with a smile, she asked, "Since when do you call her Kathryn?"  
  
This took Chakotay by surprise. "What?"  
  
"Last night, when Captain Janeway fainted, you called her Kathryn." B'Elanna said.  
  
"Well, you must have heard wrong."  
  
B'Elanna gave him a knowing look and smiled. "I know what I heard. And saw." She turned and walked into the shelter, leaving a surprised Chakotay to follow her in.  
  
Inside the shelter, Kathryn was sleeping. Chakotay put his hand to her forehead, her fever was getting worse. B'Elanna was putting a cold cloth on her forehead when a familiar voice came from Kathryn's commbadge.  
  
"Tuvok to Janeway, are you there?"  
  
B'Elanna and Tom both looked over at Chakotay, who smiled.  
  
"What was that?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Hope." B'Elanna told her with a smile.  
  
Kathryn's commbadge went off again. "Captain, please respond."  
  
Chakotay looked down at his sleeping Captain. He didn't want to wake her. He tapped his commbadge. "Tuvok, this is Chakotay. Where are you?"  
  
"We are several hundred lightyears away. We will be in transporter range in a few days. Are you in need of medical assistance?"  
  
"Yes. We have teamed up with five other people. Captain Janeway is sick, Lieutenant Paris is injured, and one of the others has lost a lot of blood."  
  
"And Kim and Torres?"  
  
"They're both fine.  
  
"Forgive me Sir, but we are only picking up nine life signs, and you said there are five others."  
  
"It's a long story Tuvok, just get here."  
  
As Chakotay and B'Elanna left the shelter to tell the others the news, Chakotay stopped B'Elanna. "If you tell anyone--"  
  
"Don't worry." B'Elanna said, cutting him off, "You secret is safe with me."  
  
Tom had decided to leave the shelter to stretch out his legs, so he was out talking to Harry, B'Elanna was talking to Chakotay, Willow was lying stretched out in the grass, Kathryn was sleeping, and Buffy and Riley were talking quietly while they watched Angel and Faith fight. Faith was trying to get Angel to feed off of her.  
  
"He really does need to feed." Buffy said softly. She rested her head on Riley's shoulder, "And what scares me is that I don't even have the strength to fight him anymore."  
  
Faith smacked Angel across the face. Buffy couldn't hear what he said, but she knew Faith had won because they walked into the woods.  
  
A minute latter, Buffy and Riley watched as beams of golden-orange light appeared, then disappeared, leaving behind about ten human-looking people, except for their milky-white skin, and sky-blue hair, who were holding mean-looking weapons. Riley stood up and walked out of the shelter. They had everyone's attention. One of the aliens took its weapon and fired it at B'Elanna. She screamed in pain and crumpled to the ground.  
  
"B'Elanna!" Tom shouted in alarm, as he, Chakotay, and Harry all grabbed their phasers and pointed them at the aliens.  
  
Faith and Angel came running out of the woods. One alien fired at Faith but she jumped out of the way just in time. Tom fired his phaser and hit one in the chest. It fell to the ground. Chakotay bent down to check B'Elanna's pulse. It was beating at a normal rate, which was odd, considering what had happened to her.  
  
"Commander?" Tom asked.  
  
"She's still alive." Chakotay answered as he stood up. One of the aliens fired at him. He too cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. Harry and Tom both fired their phasers, each taking out an alien, and Faith, not knowing what else to do, threw a stake. It cut into the chest of one, and he fell to the ground. Two aliens ran over to Chakotay and B'Elanna. They each gabbed one of their arms, then they were beamed away. Harry and Tom continued firing. The aliens fired at Faith and Angel. They quickly moved out of the way. Faith ran up and jumped at one. She knocked the weapon out of its hand.  
  
Buffy watched helplessly as her friends were attacked. She hated not being able to help, but she could barley stand, how would she be able to fight? Willow ran into the shelter. She put one hand on Buffy's shoulder, and one on Kathryn's leg. She said something that Buffy couldn't understand, then took her hands away. "What did you do?" Buffy asked.  
  
"I put a kind of forcefeild around us." Buffy just nodded and watched in silent horror as first Riley, then Angel were taken by the aliens.  
  
There were only two aliens left. One fired at Harry. Tom pushed him out of the way, only to get shot himself. As Harry landed, he could hear a bone in his leg break. He winced in pain. "Tom!" He called as the alien that had shot him beamed him away. As Harry tried to stand, Faith knocked the last alien down. She whirled around and threw herself at Harry, knocking them both into the water. Faith held Harry under the water, signaling him to follow her down the stream. The alien stood up. He looked around, and, seeing nobody, made an annoyed grunting sound, and beamed away.  
  
A little ways down the stream, Faith and Harry came up, gasping for breath. Faith climbed out then turned and helped Harry out. "Are you okay?" She asked.  
  
"I think I broke my leg." Harry said, "Is there anyone else left?"  
  
"Buffy, Willow and Kathryn are still in the shelter. If you can stand, I can help you get over there."  
  
Harry nodded, and, with a little help from Faith, he managed to stand.  
  
Faith helped Harry into the shelter. Willow jumped up to help her help him to the ground. "What happened?" She asked.  
  
"He broke his leg." Faith said.  
  
"What about you? Are you okay?"  
  
"I think I may have bruised a rib or two, but I'll be fine." Faith smiled.  
  
"You're bleeding." Willow told her.  
  
Faith put her hand to her right temple, where she had a large cut. "Huh, I guess I am, it's just a scratch, I'll live." Faith looked at Willow and gave her a strange smile.  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's weird, I tried to kill you, but you're still concerned about me. And weren't you afraid of me?"  
  
Willow smiled. "I guess after spending time with you on this planet makes you seem less intimidating. And people change, I guess. And besides, you're about the strangest person here right now, I wouldn't want to get on your bad side, 'cuz you never know when you might decide to hold a knife to my throat again."  
  
Faith smiled. "I think there was a compliment buried in there somewhere, but I'm not quite sure."  
  
They both turned as they heard Kathryn groan. She had actually slept through the whole fight. Now, she woke and sat up. She looked at everyone else. "What happened?" She asked. Everyone could tell it was a huge effort just to sit up and talk.  
  
"We were attacked." Harry said, "I'm not sure who they were. Everyone else was taken."  
  
Chakotay opened his eyes. Slowly, he remembered what had happened. The fight. So where was he now? He was in a room with no furniture. The walls were plain white. He sat up. Tom, Angel, Riley, and B'Elanna were also just waking up. No one else was in the room.  
  
"Where are we?" Tom asked.  
  
"I wish I knew." Chakotay answered.  
  
B'Elanna got up and walked over to the doors. She tried to open them. After several minutes of trying, she gave up. "They won't open." She announced.  
  
Five minutes later, they had decided only one thing. They were on a ship. There was nothing in the room to give them any hints, but Tom, Chakotay, and B'Elanna decided that it felt like a ship.  
  
Tom sighed. "This is dumb. Let's talk about something more cheerful."  
  
"Like what?" Chakotay asked.  
  
"Oh, I don't know, how about you and the Captain?" Tom said.  
  
Chakotay looked at him. "What about us?"  
  
Tom grinned, "You two looked pretty comfy for awhile there." He paused, "So, how long have you had these feelings for her?"  
  
Chakotay glared at him. "That's none of your business, Lieutenant." He shot a glance at B'Elanna, and was about to say something.  
  
"I didn't say anything!" B'Elanna cried defensively.  
  
"You know," Tom said to Chakotay, coming to B'Elanna's rescue, "if you're going to make out with the Captain, you really should go somewhere out of the view of the shelter."  
  
Chakotay glared at him again, but before he could say anything, Angel interrupted.  
  
"I hate to break up your conversation, but we really should be concentrating on a way to get out of here."  
  
Kathryn wasn't sleeping, she was just resting. She lay stretched out on her back with her eyes closed. She wished Voyager would hurry up get to them. She hated being sick, and she wanted to find Chakotay and the others. Thinking about that made her think about her 'relationship' with Chakotay. She quickly forced herself to think of something else. She opened her eyes, and struggled to sit up. Just doing that took a lot of effort. She looked around. Buffy was curled up in a little ball, but her eyes were open. Harry was leaning against the wall. He had definitely broken his leg, but he was handling it well. Willow and Faith were sitting just outside the shelter, talking quietly. The cut of Faith's temple was very large, and looked like it might be infected. Then Kathryn heard the sound she had wanted to hear so badly. The sound of Tuvok's voice over her commbadge.  
  
"Tuvok to Janeway."  
  
Kathryn looked over to Harry and smiled. She tapped her commbadge. "Janeway here." She said with some effort.  
  
"Captain, we are now within transporter range. What is your current condition?"  
  
"Well, of those of us who are still here, most of us need medical attention. Beam us directly to sickbay."  
  
"Aye, Captain. Energising."  
  
Faith felt an odd sensation, then she was no longer in the shelter. She was in a strange room with lots of machinery, and a few beds. Aside from her and the others who had been on the planet, two others were in the room. One was a male wearing the same uniform as Kathryn and the others, except his was blue instead of red or yellow. The other was a female, she wasn't wearing a uniform, and she wasn't human.  
  
"Where are we?" Faith asked.  
  
"You are in sickbay, on Voyager." The one with the uniform answered.  
  
"This place is amazing, what is all this stuff?"  
  
"There will be time for that latter. As for now, these people need medical attention."  
  
Kathryn sat up. She was in sickbay. How did I get here? Slowly, she started remembering how she had gotten there. She saw the Doctor tending to Harry's leg. Buffy was lying on the bed beside her. Willow and Faith were sitting side by side on another bed, and treating the cut on Faith's forehead was... "Kes?"  
  
Kes turned and smiled. "Captain, you're awake. How do you feel?"  
  
"I'm fine, but what are you doing here?"  
  
"Actually, I came to help you."  
  
"Help us?"  
  
"Yes. I know where the others are, and how you all ended up on that planet."  
  
"What? How?"  
  
"Q. I had a run-in with him not to long ago. He dropped a couple hints, and I managed to figure the rest out. I believe Commander Chakotay and the others were captured by a race called the Dren."  
  
"We can talk latter Kes, right now, I have some things to take care of. For now, do you think you could take our guests down to the mess hall and get them something to eat? And feel free to use the replicators."  
  
Kes smiled. "Of course."  
  
"Mr. Kim," Kathryn said, "you're with me."  
  
"Yes ma'am." Harry said with a smile, he was glad to be back on Voyager, even if it meant going back to work. He got off the bed and started following the Captain out of sickbay.  
  
"Wait a minute." Faith said, "Didn't you have a broken leg a few minutes ago?"  
  
Harry smiled, "Welcome to the twenty-fourth century." He walked out of sickbay with the Captain.  
  
B'Elanna repositioned herself on the uncomfortable bed, but she reminded herself that it could have been worse. There could have been no bed at all. B'Elanna and the others who had been captured had been dumped off the ship they had been on, into this--this place. It was sort of like a prison camp. The prisoners were divided into three groups. Each group had to take turns working in the mines, where they mined for some sort of rock. B'Elanna, Chakotay, and Tom were in one group, and Angel and Riley were in another group, the one that was in the mines now. B'Elanna looked up as a group of guards walked in, followed by the prisoners who had been working in the mines, followed by more guards. The prisoners were shoved into the overcrowded room. Angel and Riley made their way over to Chakotay, Tom, and B'Elanna, but before they had a chance say anything, the three of them were taken away to the mines to take over the work. B'Elanna found herself being reminded of the Vidiian prison camp she and Tom had once been in. She shuddered at the memory. Of all the horrible things that had happened while in the Delta Quadrant, what the Vidiians had done still gave her the most and worst nightmares. Instead of putting her with the rest of the prisoners, they had done experiments on her. They had split her into two different people, then used one half as a test subject, and thrown the other half in with the rest of the prisoners.  
  
The mines were hot and stuffy. The lighting was very poor. The rocks they were mining for were several shades of purple and blue swirled together, and really stood out against the grey of the regular rocks. The prisoners had to work for five hours at a time, and there was barley any water available, and in the heat of the mines, it ran out fast. B'Elanna hated the fact that she was stuck, working for some race of aliens that she had never seen before, mining for some rock that, except for it's beauty, looked absolutely worthless and she didn't even know what it was called. No one on Voyager knew where they were, and without their help, it would be impossible to escape because the place was heavily guarded, each guard was armed, and they had taken away their phasers. Frustrated, B'Elanna smashed her fist into a wall, causing several small rocks to fall on her.  
  
"You wanted to see me Captain?" Kes asked.  
  
Kathryn nodded. "Yes. Please, sit down." She gestured to the couch. They were in her ready room, just off the Bridge. They both sat down. "You said you know where Chakotay and the others are."  
  
"Yes. I think they were captured by a race called the Dren. They capture anyone they can, and make them work in prison mines. They won't kill them unless they have a good reason to."  
  
"Well, that's one good thing." Kathryn said, "How long would it take to get to their home world?" She asked.  
  
"About a day." Kes answered.  
  
Kathryn nodded. "Good, we have that long to think of a plan to get them back."  
  
"Actually, I already have one."  
  
Kathryn listened as Kes explained her idea. She nodded, "Okay, it's worth a try."  
  
Riley and Angel were working in the mines. Riley watched as Angel struggled with a rock that he should have been able to lift easily. Riley walked over to him. "Hey, are you okay?"  
  
Angel glared at him. "I'm fine."  
  
Riley shook his head. "No you're not. You need to feed."  
  
"Yeah, well, I don't exactly see any volunteers around here."  
  
"I will." It was no secret that Angel and Riley didn't like each other. The first time they had met, they had nearly killed each other. But Riley knew what Angel meant to Buffy, and didn't want to find out what she would do to him if he let something happen to him.  
  
Angel looked surprised, but then his face changed, showing his vampire features. "You, I might not have a problem with biting."  
  
Chakotay shook his head. "That wouldn't work. We have no weapons."  
  
"We could do it without weapons." Tom argued.  
  
"No, there's too many of them. We could never get past."  
  
"He's right Tom." B'Elanna agreed.  
  
The three of them were trying without success to find a way out of the prison. A group of four guards came in. "You three," One ordered, "come with us." B'Elanna noted with relief that he wasn't pointing at them, but behind them. "And you two, and you, and...you." The last 'you' was directed at Tom.  
  
"No!" B'Elanna gasped. Tom stood up. "Tom, you can't!" She grabbed his hand as he stood up. She couldn't help thinking of the Vidiian prison camp, where they had kept the prisoners only until they wanted to remove their major organs, and had, in fact, almost removed hers.  
  
"Hey, I'll be fine." Tom said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze before dropping it. "That's a promise." He turned and left with the guards and six other prisoners with one last glance back at Chakotay and B'Elanna.  
  
"And last but not least is the Bridge." Harry told Buffy, Faith, and Willow as they took the turbolift to their last stop. Harry was giving the three girls a tour of the ship. "No offence, but don't touch anything." He told them. The turbolift stopped and they stepped onto the Bridge.  
  
Kathryn looked up. She smiled. "Welcome to the Bridge."  
  
Harry started pointing out various stations and telling them what they were. "That's the tactical station, the engineering station, Captain Janeway is sitting in the command chair, and the chair beside her is where Commander Chakotay usually sits. That's the Helm, where Tom works."  
  
"What about you? Where do you work?" Faith asked.  
  
"Over there, at the operations station. And that room off the side is the Captain's ready room."  
  
"Ready room?" Willow asked.  
  
"Office." Harry explained.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Captain." Tuvok said, "We are approaching the Dren home world."  
  
"Who?" Buffy asked.  
  
"The people who attacked us." Harry said. He went over to his station. The person who was on duty quickly moved out of his way. "Captain, we're being hailed from the planet's surface."  
  
"On screen." Kathryn ordered. The large view screen at the front of the Bridge flooded with the image of a Dren.  
  
"Identify yourselves!"  
  
Kathryn stood up. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager, and you have something I want."  
  
"And what would that be?" the Dren practically snarled.  
  
"Five people."  
  
"We do not give up our prisoners."  
  
"Ah, but you have no right to these people. I do. They betrayed me. They must be punished for what they did, our way."  
  
The Dren thought for a moment. "Maybe we can work something out. Beam down to the planet in fifteen minutes."  
  
"Fine."  
  
The Dren ended the transmission.  
  
"Tuvok, Harry, you're with me."  
  
The three of them headed for the turbolift. "Wait!" Buffy said, as she, Faith and Willow followed them onto the lift. "I'm coming with you."  
  
Kathryn shook her head. "I don't take orders. I'm sorry, but it's too risky."  
  
"I don't care." Buffy argued, "I've been up against tougher things then them." She paused, then, "I don't take orders either. I'm coming."  
  
"Fine, but we do things my way. If this is going to work, you'll need a uniform."  
  
Ten minutes latter, Buffy, and Faith, who had also insisted on going, entered the transporter room, wearing the red and black Starfleet uniforms, complete with commbadges and phasers.  
  
Harry smile when he saw them. "The uniforms look good on you."  
  
Buffy tugged at the collar of the jacket. "These things are really uncomfortable. And whoever designed them had no fashion sense."  
  
"You'll get used to it." Harry told her.  
  
"Okay," Kathryn said, "Let's go."  
  
B'Elanna kept thinking about Tom. She couldn't help it. She was worried about him. After talking to some of the other prisoners, they had learned that every once in a while, some of the prisoners were taken away. No one knew where they were taken; only that no one ever saw them again. B'Elanna rested her head on her arms. She found herself thinking about the Vidiian prison mines again. When she, Tom and Ensign Durst had been there, before they had split her into the two people, they had taken Durst and harvested his organs. The doctor who had been doing the operation on her had taken the skin off his face and put it over his own, to make himself look more attractive to her. It had only disgusted and angered her even more. She and Tom had just barley made it out of the prison alive, thanks to Chakotay, and the Doctor had managed to 'put her back together'. Suddenly, B'Elanna looked up. "Chakotay," she whispered, "did you hear that?"  
  
"Hear what?" he asked.  
  
B'Elanna listened for a minute. She shook her head. "Never mind. It was nothing, probably just my imagination," she muttered. She could have sworn she'd heard Kathryn's voice, but in the crowded room, it was almost impossible to tell. A moment latter, she heard it again. "There!" She exclaimed, "I heard it again!"  
  
"What?" Chakotay asked again.  
  
"Captain Janeway. I heard her voice. I know I did."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes!" B'Elanna insisted. By this time, she was positive she had. "Look!" Now she could see Kathryn, Tuvok, Harry, Buffy, and Faith, along with one of the guards, walking towards them. Soon, B'Elanna could hear them clearly. "Those two, over there." Kathryn said, pointing them out.  
  
The group stopped by B'Elanna and Chakotay. Kathryn shot them a quick look warning them not to say anything. The Dren looked at them. "You can have the girl." He proclaimed.  
  
Kathryn shook her head. "That's not good enough. There are five people I want, and I want them all."  
  
"I am curious, Captain," The Dren said, "you claim these people committed crimes against you, yet they wear your uniforms. What is it that they did?"  
  
"Mutiny. They served on my ship, pretending to be loyal. Then they tried to take over, and killed several of my people."  
  
B'Elanna was shocked at what Kathryn was saying. But she quickly caught on to what she was doing, although she wasn't sure why. "Too bad we didn't get anymore."  
  
"Yes," Chakotay agreed, as he too caught on, "too bad we didn't get her."  
  
Kathryn glared at him. "How dare you." She raised her hand to hit him, but before she could, Tuvok grabbed her wrist.  
  
"If you beat him now, what are you going to do later?" Buffy asked sweetly.  
  
"Kill him." Kathryn said simply. "Maybe."  
  
"You can discuss this latter." The Dren said. "Since these two are the only two here that you want, you can have them both, but that's it. I can't let you have any more."  
  
"Fine." Kathryn said.  
  
The answer surprised B'Elanna, but she tried to hide it. She knew Kathryn would never give up that easily, and wondered what she was going to do.  
  
"Good." The Dren said. "Come with me. I'll escort you out."  
  
Tuvok grabbed Chakotay's arm, pulled him to his feet, and pushed him forward, forcing him to walk just in front of him. Buffy did the same to B'Elanna, and they followed behind the rest of the group.  
  
As they walked into the hall, which was actually more like a tunnel, because it was made completely of solid rock, B'Elanna whispered to Buffy, "Please tell me she has a plan to get the others back."  
  
"I don't know." Buffy whispered back, "But you might need this." She quickly slipped her phaser into B'Elanna's hand.  
  
"Thanks, but what about you?"  
  
"I prefer hand to hand. Besides," she shrugged, "I don't know how to use it."  
  
B'Elanna nodded. She put the phaser into the holder at her hip. As she did so, she watched as Faith slid her phaser behind her back for Chakotay to take.  
  
Faith nodded in understanding as Kathryn finished whispering her new strategy. She slowed her pace just enough for Chakotay and Tuvok to catch up. She slipped her phaser behind her back,  
  
"I would presume that is for you, Commander." She heard Tuvok whisper from behind her, and the phaser was taken from her hand. She quickened her pace to catch up to Harry. She whispered something to him, he nodded, and she stepped up beside Kathryn.  
  
"Ready?" Kathryn asked.  
  
Faith nodded, "We're ready." she whispered back.  
  
"Okay, go."  
  
Faith gave thumbs up signal behind her back and Harry slipped back beside B'Elanna. "How can you say that?" he demanded loudly, "you just killed your own best friend!"  
  
He had taken B'Elanna completely by surprise. "Some best friend." she shot back, trying to recover from the shock of his sudden accusation. "She was a coward, afraid to go against her beloved Captain, and she was weak, like you." she snarled, not sure why Harry was doing this, but knowing he had a good reason.  
  
As everyone stopped to see what was going on, Harry punched B'Elanna in the jaw. She took a step back. "You'll pay for that!" But before she could do anything, Buffy grabbed both of her arms, holding her back.  
  
Harry raised his fist to hit her again.  
  
"Harry!" Kathryn snapped, "Save it for later!"  
  
"You should let him, Captain." The Dren said, "I've always enjoyed a good fight."  
  
"I'll give you a fight." Faith said, who had snuck up behind him while his attention had been on Harry and B'Elanna. With one swift move, she took his weapon, and smashed it on the ground. Then she threw her weight against him and slammed him into a wall and held him there. Everyone else drew their phasers and aimed them at the Dren.  
  
"You have a really lousy punch Starfleet." B'Elanna commented.  
  
Harry shrugged, "Wouldn't want to hurt you." B'Elanna snorted.  
  
"What are you doing?" The Dren demanded.  
  
"The day Chakotay leads a mutiny is the day I'll leave an innocent crew member in a prison camp." Kathryn told him.  
  
"Careful what you say." Chakotay said with a grin, "You never know what I might do."  
  
"Right." Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Now, where are the rest of my people?" She asked the Dren.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Faith twisted his arm behind his back. "Harry may have a lousy punch, but I can guarantee you that I don't. And neither does she." She nodded towards Buffy.  
  
"Okay, they'll be in the mines."  
  
"What about Tom?" B'Elanna asked, "They took him somewhere."  
  
"I don't know anything about that, I swear!" The Dren insisted.  
  
Faith slammed his head hard against the wall. He slumped to the ground. "Oops." She said, "I guess I hit him a little too hard."  
  
Kathryn turned to B'Elanna and Chakotay. "How do we get to the mines from here?"  
  
"It's this way." Chakotay said, pointing down the tunnel. The group took off, leaving the unconscious Dren behind.  
  
The group didn't get very far before they heard a large group walking towards them.  
  
"Great. Just what we need." Kathryn grumbled.  
  
"Its the end of the shift." B'Elanna said, "They must be bringing the prisoners back to change groups. That means Angel and Riley will be with them."  
  
"Quick." Kathryn said, "In here." The group turned and entered a smaller passage. "We can get them as they go by."  
  
Buffy stood just far enough from the entrance that no one passing by could see her. As Riley walked past, Buffy grabbed his arm and pulled him in. He started to say something, but she clamped her hand over his mouth and turned him around so he could see who she was. He relaxed and she let him go. Meanwhile, Faith did the same thing with Angel.  
  
Before they could get caught, the group proceeded down the smaller tunnel. "Does anyone know where this tunnel leads?" Kathryn asked. No one did. "Well," she said, "it looks like we're about to find out. There's something up ahead."  
  
As they got closer, they saw that that something was another, smaller, mine, with about twenty workers and ten guards.  
  
"There's Tom." Harry whispered.  
  
Kathryn nodded, "I see him." Tom looked like he could barley stand. Kathryn guessed that the Dren had been working him non-stop, and his injured side didn't help any. "We're going to have to take out the guards to get Tom out." she said. "Ready?"  
  
Everyone nodded, and those that had them, took out their phasers. Kathryn aimed at one of the guards and took the first shot, hitting him square in the back. He fell to the ground. This caught the attention of the other guards, who grabbed their weapons and turned to face their attackers.  
  
B'Elanna took the second shot, hitting a Dren guard in the chest. Beside her, Harry ducked to avoid getting hit as the Dren started firing back. By this time, Tom had figured out what was going on, and was trying to make his way over to them, but with the condition he was in, he could barley stand, let alone walk.  
  
Buffy crept over to Harry. "I'm going to get Tom." She whispered.  
  
"I'm coming too." Faith insisted.  
  
Buffy gave her an annoyed look, but nodded. "Cover us." she told Harry.  
  
Harry nodded. "Let's go."  
  
As they ran towards Tom, several of the Dren turned their attention to them. Buffy ran slightly ahead of Faith and Harry.  
  
"Buffy!" Faith cried as she reached Tom. "Look out!" Faith shoved her out of the way of a phaser beam, and fell to the ground as it hit her instead. Seeing what had happened, B'Elanna and Tuvok made their way over to help. Tom leaned against Buffy and B'Elanna, and Tuvok picked up Faith and started to carry her. As they made their way back, the two remaining Dren guards continued to fire at them. With her free hand, B'Elanna fired back. One of the Dren's fire hit her hand and knocked the phaser out of her grasp. She cried out in pain, but kept going as both Dren fell to the ground from Kathryn and Chakotay's fire. But one of the Dren managed to fire once more before falling unconscious, and hit Harry's leg. Before he could fall, Buffy let go of Tom and caught him. Chakotay went to help B'Elanna with Tom and Kathryn to help Buffy with Harry.  
  
"We have to hurry." Kathryn said, "It won't be long before they find us."  
  
"Can't we just beam out?" B'Elanna asked.  
  
"No," Kathryn told her, "we're too far under ground."  
  
"Harry! Quit flirting and get over here! We need your help, they're actually winning!"  
  
After the group had gotten close enough to the surface, they had beamed back to Voyager, and the Doctor had easily taken care of all of their injuries, but ordered them all to relax for a day or so. Now, they were in the holodeck, on a beach, playing a round of beach volleyball. Chakotay, Riley, and Tom against Buffy, Kathryn, Willow and B'Elanna. Harry and Faith were sitting near by, talking.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm coming."  
  
"That's not fair!" B'Elanna protested.  
  
"Why not?" Willow asked, "It'll make the teams even."  
  
"It's not fair because Harry's the best player on the ship!" B'Elanna turned back to the other team. "You can have Harry if we can have Faith."  
  
Tom nodded. "Okay, that sounds fair." Faith smiled. Wasn't he in for a surprise.  
  
"You cheated, I know you did."  
  
The game was over. Now they were sitting on the beach talking. But even though they were all having fun, there was just a little bit of tension. Kathryn and Chakotay were avoiding each other, and so were Buffy and Faith.  
  
"Give it up Tom, we won fair and square." B'Elanna argued. "You're just a sore looser."  
  
"You know Tom," Chakotay said, breaking up the argument, "you missed the best part of the prison camp."  
  
"Really? And what would that be? I wasn't aware that there was a best part."  
  
"Getting to see Harry punch B'Elanna.'  
  
"Harry punched B'Elanna!?!"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Well, I figured it was the one time I could punch her without her getting me back."  
  
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Starfleet." B'Elanna grumbled. "Watch you're back."  
  
"Whatever you say, Maquis." Harry grinned.  
  
"Starfleet? Maquis?" Buffy asked, confused.  
  
"It's a long story." Harry told her.  
  
"I must say, this is a most interesting group." A man wearing a Starfleet uniform suddenly appeared in front of them.  
  
"Who are you?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Q." Kathryn answered. "He's the one who brought you here."  
  
"Ah, Kathy, it's good to see you again, and may I say, you look lovely today."  
  
Kathryn glared at him. "What do you want?"  
  
"Oh, Kathy, you disappoint me. What makes you think I want something?"  
  
"Why else would you come? And don't call me that."  
  
"All right, I've had my fun. It's time to put you all back where you belong. And all I have to do, is snap my fingers."  
  
"Wait!" Faith said.  
  
"What?" Q asked, annoyed that he was being held up by some 'mere mortal'.  
  
"Well, it's just that, I'm supposed to be in jail, and I have every intention of going back there, but if I just suddenly reappear, it'll look suspicious, so could you like, make people not remember that I was gone or something? Unless of course, you're not, powerful enough."  
  
"Of course I am! I'll do it." Q raised his hand to snap his fingers.  
  
"Wait" Faith said again. She walked over to Harry, threw her arms around him, and kissed him. She walked back over to Buffy and the others, leaving a very surprised Harry starring after her. Q snapped his fingers and they disappeared, back to where they belonged.  
  
Buffy looked around. She was in the park, right where she had been before ending up on the planet. She looked over at Willow and Riley. She could tell that they remembered too, so it hadn't just been her.  
  
Minutes latter, they were at Giles', along with Xander and Tara. They had more or less explained what had happened. "I gotta go." Buffy said. I'll be back in a few days."  
  
"Where are you going?" Willow asked.  
  
"L.A. There's someone I have to talk to." Buffy called on her way out the door.  
  
Kathryn sat down on the couch in her quarters. She took a sip from her mug of hot coffee. She sighed; she had too many reports to read. Well, I may as well get started. There's no sense in putting it off. The computer beeped, letting her know someone was at the door. "Come in." She called.  
  
She looked up as Chakotay stepped in. "Chakotay."  
  
"Captain, I think we need to talk." Chakotay found that he couldn't quite look her in the eye.  
  
Kathryn sighed. He was right. She got up and walked over to him. "Yes, I guess we do. Where do you suggest we start?"  
  
"Well, I guess we start with this, we can't ignore what happened between us."  
  
Kathryn nodded. "I know." her voice was soft, almost a whisper.  
  
"And, there can't be anything between us. We're the Captain and First Officer."  
  
Again, Kathryn nodded. "I know." She glanced up, and, once again, like she had so often before, she found herself staring into Chakotay's eyes. He stared right back into hers. "So," she forced herself to whisper, "What are we going to do about it?"  
  
Chakotay smiled. "Nothing." He leaned down and their lip s met in a gentle kiss. When they broke away, they continued to stare into each other's eyes. Things were definitely going to be different on Voyager from now on.  
  
"Buffy? What are you doing here?" Faith asked. She had been surprised enough when she had been told she had a visitor, she definitely hadn't expected it to be her.  
  
"We need to talk." Buffy told her.  
  
"Okay, so talk."  
  
"Faith, you saved my life."  
  
Faith shrugged, "No big deal. I only tried to kill you how many times?"  
  
"Are you really sorry for everything you did?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then what do you say we start over and be friends?"  
  
The question surprised Faith. She hadn't expected that coming from Buffy. For a moment, her mind wandered back to the planet, to a conversation she'd had with Tom. He'd told her a lot of things, that hadn't really meant anything to her at the time. But now, the meaning sunk in. He'd told her that getting a second chance was the best thing that had happened to him. That, before Voyager, he hadn't cared about life. He hadn't given any of his actions a second thought. He'd said he couldn't care less what happened to him. He'd been quick to judge people. But then, he had been given his second chance, on Voyager. People forgot about his reputation, and learned who he really was. But, he had said, the most important thing that had happened was that he learned who he really was, who he could be, and he had made friends. That had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. Friends. It hadn't made sense to her at the time. But now, looking over at Buffy, she understood what he had meant. She was getting her second chance now, with Buffy. And she wasn't going to screw up this time. Faith smiled. " Yeah, I'd like that. "Thank you Tom. She said silently.  
  
The End  
  
This story was typed on a Mac, by a Canadian! 


End file.
